Philly mob and Chicago Outfit are on the abyss

[Wiseguy]

GANGLAND USA: Philly mob and Chicago Outfit are on the abyss
Brad Hunter, Toronto Sun
February 5, 2023

The Dec. 12, 2012 rubout of Gino DiPietro in South Philly tells you pretty much everything you need to know about the modern American Mafia.

For starters, the 50-year-old mobster was whacked in the middle of the day in the driveway of his home.

Mob soldier Anthony Nicodemo should not be expecting a Mensa nomination.

For the hit, he used his own vehicle and drove several blocks to his house. Cops were waiting for him. He got 25 to 50 years in prison for driving the getaway vehicle.

DiPietro’s departure was the last mob hit in Philly where fratricide turned the streets into roiling rivers of blood following the 1980 hit on longtime boss, Angelo “The Gentle Don” Bruno.

As in New York City, Chicago, Buffalo, Detroit and Boston, the traditional American Mafia is in steep decline. Elsewhere, it no longer exists at all.

“Things are severely diminished from what they were 20 years ago,” legendary Philadelphia Inquirer crime reporter George Anastasia told The Toronto Sun. “There are still, maybe, 20 to 25 made guys in Philly and I can name them all. If I can name them all, so can the cops.”

Now retired, Anastasia covered gangland intrigue for decades. The reason for the death spiral is multi-faceted, he said from his home in New Jersey.

Next to New York City and Chicago, Philadelphia was America’s most mobbed-up town. In Angelo Bruno’s heyday, there were at least 80 made men in the City of Brotherly Love, along with hundreds of associates.

“Casino gambling was coming to Atlantic City and New York wanted to destabilize Philadelphia, who controlled Atlantic City,” Anastasia, author of Doctor Dealer, said. “They got Bruno, and then it careened out of control.”

That’s an understatement. Next up for death was Bruno’s successor, Philip “Chicken Man” Testa, obliterated by a bomb on the front porch of his home a year later.

Enter Nicodemo “Little Nicky” Scarfo.

A pint-sized former pugilist turned mobster, Scarfo was a “paranoid psychopath,” Anastasia said. Ten bloody years followed.

Even his underlings were so terrified of Scarfo that they began flipping in droves. But even with a staggering body count and a criminal organization that was imploding, the diminutive demon held on for a decade before the feds got him.

He died in prison. Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino now runs the diminished Philly family from Florida.

But Anastasia believes the Mafia will always exist in Philly.

“Greed-bred violence and Philadelphia just wasn’t big enough to sustain Scarfo the way New York could sustain the Five Families,” he said, adding that RICO laws and demographics quickened its path to irrelevance.

Longtime Windy City mob watcher John Binder told the Sun that the diagnosis for the Chicago Outfit is not much better than Philly.

“The Outfit still exists, but it’s very reduced from what it was, and it’s like a lot of other La Cosa Nostra families across America: It’s taken a lot of hits, and it’s in decline,” Binder said.

Once, Chicago epitomized gangland violence. The Windy City was home to Al Capone, whose bloody regime kick-started hundreds of murders.

Binder said the legalization of gambling, marijuana and other vices has taken a big bite out of the mob’s profits and power.

“Hoods are not good at doing legal stuff,” said Binder, whose book, The Chicago Outfit, was a true crime bestseller. “If they have to be scrupulously honest, legit businessmen, they’ll fail.”

He added: “The Outfit hasn’t evolved. Basically, they can’t compete when something is legal.”

According to media reports, the Outfit was responsible for more than 1,100 gangland murders from the 1920s onward. But the most recent hit was the 2006 disappearance of Anthony “Little Tony” Zizzo.

The high-ranking gangster’s body has not been found, but it is believed internal rivals took him off the board.

“There’s a paucity of criminal talent now. We used to say that our ball teams are bad, but our hoods are good,” Binder laughed.

Now, the crime syndicate that once boasted they put John F. Kennedy in the White House is chasing crumbs of degenerate gamblers and dope fiends.

Both Binder and Anastasia agreed that once-lucrative labour racketeering and a myriad other scams are a thing of the past.

Once, a crook couldn’t spit without getting the green light from the Outfit. Violence — that beloved tool that kept people in line for decades — is now also out of fashion.

“Now, they ask themselves: Do we want a shooting war with these guys [street gangs]? They don’t want the attention because they know there would be goddamn bodies everywhere,” the author said.

Binder said that back in the day when the mob-controlled vices like gambling, prostitution and bootlegging, it was seen as harmless adult fun. Something like killer fentanyl? That’s a whole different matter.

“They’re turning the clock back to the ’60s and hijacking trucks now. A load of colour TVs? They’ll steal it,” Binder said. “But, you know, these guys will still do anything if they can get away with it.”

Demographics are also working against the American Mafia, slashing the talent pool

“Earlier this century, guys would follow their dads and uncles into the Mafia. Now, those kids are doctors, lawyers and engineers,” Anastasia said.

“Back in the day, a lot of the gangsters were smart guys and for them, it was a way of life. Now, they’re scraping the bottom of the barrel.”

He added: “Those smart guys didn’t want a second generation of wiseguys in their family. They did what they did to get over the hump in America and that’s that.”

Bizarrely, the swan song of the American Mafia may have something to do with hard-working (albeit in criminal enterprises) immigrants boosting their children up the socio-economic ladder.

Anastasia added: “Now it’s psychopaths who just don’t want to work.”

https://torontosun.com/news/world/gangl ... -the-abyss

[Little_Al1991]

The lack of indictments in Chicago speaks for itself

[Coloboy]

Binder is a great Outfit historian. His expertise is the Capone era. However, there are people on this board who posses much better Knowledge of everything 1970s-today.

As far as indictments, there are more than you think. I wouldn’t expect anyone to take a deep dive into the Chicago outfit thread, but there were three separate large scale gambling busts in 2020 alone that were highly likely to be outfit connected involving hundreds of millions of dollars. That’s just one example. But yes, it is certainly in decline, along with every other LCN family in the U.S.

[Wiseguy]

Binder is a great Outfit historian. His expertise is the Capone era. However, there are people on this board who posses much better Knowledge of everything 1970s-today.

As far as indictments, there are more than you think. I wouldn’t expect anyone to take a deep dive into the Chicago outfit thread, but there were three separate large scale gambling busts in 2020 alone that were highly likely to be outfit connected involving hundreds of millions of dollars. That’s just one example. But yes, it is certainly in decline, along with every other LCN family in the U.S.

I wouldn't overstate those recent gambling cases in regards to the current state of the Outfit. The mob connection to the Paloian bust was certainly evident but I'm not sure about the other two. Articles about the Delgiudice bust mentioned the operation using "mob-connected runners" and one of the defendants was using Donald Angelini Jr. as his defense attorney but that's all I recall. I didn't see anything regarding an Outfit connection in the Poeta bust.

There's seemed to always be a certain degree of separation factor when it comes to evaluating mob cases in Chicago. Any links, no matter how distant or tenuous, are put under "the Outfit" umbrella. This has played a big part in what led many, maybe more so in the past than today, having an outdated and exaggerated view of the Chicago mob. Cases that clearly and directly tied to the Outfit, especially ones involving a increasingly rare remaining member - like the Family Secrets or Sarno cases - are few and far between.

[SonnyBlackstein]

Buffalo and the NY 5 will be the last standing it appears.

[Little_Al1991]

Binder is a great Outfit historian. His expertise is the Capone era. However, there are people on this board who posses much better Knowledge of everything 1970s-today.

As far as indictments, there are more than you think. I wouldn’t expect anyone to take a deep dive into the Chicago outfit thread, but there were three separate large scale gambling busts in 2020 alone that were highly likely to be outfit connected involving hundreds of millions of dollars. That’s just one example. But yes, it is certainly in decline, along with every other LCN family in the U.S.

There hasn’t been an official case such as the Sarno case for years.No recent DOJ press releases have mentioned Chicago Outfit associates or made men.

[Wiseguy]

Buffalo and the NY 5 will be the last standing it appears.

donotwant-dwight.gif

[Snakes]

Binder is a great Outfit historian. His expertise is the Capone era. However, there are people on this board who posses much better Knowledge of everything 1970s-today.

As far as indictments, there are more than you think. I wouldn’t expect anyone to take a deep dive into the Chicago outfit thread, but there were three separate large scale gambling busts in 2020 alone that were highly likely to be outfit connected involving hundreds of millions of dollars. That’s just one example. But yes, it is certainly in decline, along with every other LCN family in the U.S.

There hasn’t been an official case such as the Sarno case for years.No recent DOJ press releases have mentioned Chicago Outfit associates or made men.

To be fair (I hate that saying), no Chicago incidicments aside from Family Secrets have mentioned made members or admin positions. I'm not a cheerleader or saying that the Outfit is making a comeback, but indictments aren't the be-all, end-all and only tell half the story.

[Pmac2]

Philly alive and well. Probably have a record high for members. There power just like all the families has dwindled

[Wiseguy]

Philly alive and well. Probably have a record high for members. There power just like all the families has dwindled

From the late 1980s to early 1990s, the family had about 60 total members. Today it's about 40.

[johnny_scootch]

“Things are severely diminished from what they were 20 years ago,” legendary Philadelphia Inquirer crime reporter George Anastasia told The Toronto Sun. “There are still, maybe, 20 to 25 made guys in Philly and I can name them all. If I can name them all, so can the cops.”

Philly alive and well. Probably have a record high for members. There power just like all the families has dwindled

From the late 1980s to early 1990s, the family had about 60 total members. Today it's about 40.

Apparently George Anastasia can’t name them all. Bad look for him being so far off.

[Tonyd621]

This is a good article. But it's not really news. Anybody who's anybody researching the mob would probably agree with this article. But I disagree about the the correlation between indictments and criminal activity in IOC. True there are fewer indictments but I also think the indictments now are much bigger and all encompassing. Think about the 121 mobsters bust 10, 11 years ago. 15,20+ guys in Philly in 2020. And these indictments have dozens and dozens of Rico acts and criminal activity dating back to the 90s. Idk that's just my opinion of it

[Pogo The Clown]

Philly alive and well. Probably have a record high for members. There power just like all the families has dwindled

From the late 1980s to early 1990s, the family had about 60 total members. Today it's about 40.

And in the 1960s they had 90.

Apparently George Anastasia can’t name them all. Bad look for him being so far off.

He is referring to active members. In the past he has given the number of active members when referring to Philly’s size.


Pogo

[johnny_scootch]

He is referring to active members. In the past he has given the number of active members when referring to Philly’s size.


Pogo

Philly only has 20-25 active guys?

Taking a quick look at the Philly list in the charts section there’s 10 members listed under Admin and Capos alone. Is it terribly out of date?

[Pogo The Clown]

He is referring to active members. In the past he has given the number of active members when referring to Philly’s size.


Pogo

Philly only has 20-25 active guys?

Taking a quick look at the Philly list in the charts section there’s 10 members listed under Admin and Capos alone. Is it terribly out of date?

A little out of date but Philly has been pretty top heavy since the 1990s when it comes to the ratio of leaders to active soldiers.


Pogo